Three Winning Tips From a Hide and Seek Professional

I’ve been playing a lot of Hide and Seek lately with players of varying skill level–mostly friendly games, but there’ve been a few high stakes sessions too. I’ve been taking detailed notes, and am really working to refine my game. I’m not giving away all of my secrets, but here are three tips you can use to keep most opponents confounded. Just keep in mind that every game (and every round) of Hide and Seek is different, and your opponent isn’t just “It”, but the other hiders as well.

1. If you’re “It”, count as slowly as possible.
This flies in the face of hide and seek conventional wisdom. You’d intuitively think that counting faster would allow your opponents less time to hide, and, as a result, increase your chances of discovering them while they are still in an unprepared state. However, this strategy rarely works in practice. Counting slowly, on the other hand, gives the enemy lots of time to find a hiding spot, and lots of time to get restless and impatient in that spot. If given enough time, your opponents are sure to be faced with the need to scratch or cough. This small slip up will give you the upper hand.

2. Pick a hiding spot as close to Base as possible and 180 degrees away from the direction a fleet footed “It” is likely to begin their search.
This is somewhat of a high risk tactic, especially for less experienced players. But if “It” begins their search in a direction somewhere around 180 degrees away from your hiding spot, you will have an opportunity to sprint to Base early in the round, not only ensuring you won’t have to be “It” for the next round, but also giving you plenty of time to watch the current round unfold from a safe place while you plot your next hiding spot. Just make sure you find a spot that’s close–you are unlikely to outrun a speedy “It” in a distance greater than 40 yards.

3. Choose a hiding place with several intermediate hiding spots nearby.
This is easier in the later rounds of the game, when you’ve had the chance to scout out some of the other players hiding spots you may not have found on your own. Use the intermediate spots to work your way back to Base, but still remain hidden. This is an especially effective tactic if “It” has already checked these spots and cleared them.